Currently, the BIM modeling software industry is still emerging, with both its core essence and external ecosystem far from mature. The industry chain faces numerous challenges and requires significant time and development to truly usher in a new era.
1) Promotion Strategies of Some BIM Modeling Software Conflict with Natural Development Laws
BIM, as an information system, must adhere to general principles governing such systems, including the Nolan model. Developed from extensive experience in over 200 companies and departments, the Nolan model outlines six stages of information system development: initiation, expansion, control, integration, information management, and maturity. Each stage involves a critical learning curve that cannot be bypassed.
Information technology typically begins with standalone software that replaces manual tasks to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance data processing. Over time, these technologies expand within various departments of an enterprise.
With technological, economic, and cultural advancements, focus shifts from merely managing computers to managing information resources. This involves integrating software and systems using database and remote communication technologies, establishing centralized databases, and adopting unified data standards to facilitate enterprise-wide information sharing.
The Nolan model is supported by the history of information technology development. For instance, industries like mechanical manufacturing only began promoting PDM (Product Data Management) and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) after foundational technologies such as CAD, CAM, CAE, and CAPP matured.
Some BIM software providers, facing significant software performance and functionality gaps, attempt to promote their products by emphasizing building lifecycle information management without improving core functionalities like design, analysis, construction management, or operations and maintenance. This approach resembles placing an aircraft carrier on an immature engine—resulting in cumbersome operation and a poor user experience, severely hindering software adoption.
2) Advanced PLM Technologies from Mechanical Manufacturing Have Yet to Be Fully Adopted by the Construction Industry
The mechanical manufacturing CAD industry is categorized into three tiers based on capabilities to shape complex surfaces and integrate information: high-end, mid-range, and low-end.
High-end CAD systems include CATIA, UG, and I-DEAS; mid-range products include SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Pro/E, and Inventor; low-end software includes AutoCAD and Microstation. This classification is widely accepted in manufacturing and is reflected in product pricing and company revenues.
However, the BIM modeling software market remains dominated by manufacturers of low-end CAD products. AutoCAD and Microstation offer limited 3D and data integration capabilities, and BIM software built on these platforms (e.g., Civil 3D on AutoCAD) inherit these limitations. Revit, originating from early Pro/E, lags behind Pro/E’s advanced iterations like CROE. Although CATIA is a high-end CAD product, its adaptation to construction is limited, often forcing general manufacturing features onto construction needs—leading to commercialization and adoption challenges.
Many BIM practitioners set implementation goals based on high-end mechanical PLM standards, but mainstream BIM software does not support these ambitions, causing frequent failures and dampening enthusiasm.
3) Current BIM Modeling Software Lacks Specialization and Exhibits Low Efficiency
The primary cost of software use lies not in purchase price but in labor and management during operation. Designer labor costs for learning and producing drawings with BIM software often exceed software prices by multiple factors. Therefore, software efficiency is crucial for successful adoption.
For example, the widespread use of AutoCAD in China owes much to secondary developers like Tianzheng and Hongye, who embedded numerous construction industry rules into their software. This enables rapid, batch generation of components and graphics, significantly reducing designers’ workloads and promoting design informatization.
There is a clear positive correlation between specialization and modeling efficiency. Efficient software often serves highly specialized purposes. For instance, Tianzheng software is popular in housing construction but rarely used for bridge or highway design. Hongye utilizes a specialized product (Lulide) for highway design.
The BIM industry lacks a clear division between foundational platforms and specialized architectural applications, often relying on all-in-one native systems. Using software originally designed for small to medium residential design to manage the entire construction lifecycle is inefficient and burdensome, increasing designer workload and slowing BIM adoption.
4) BIM Model Information Extraction Technology Is Immature
BIM software stores vast engineering data in object-relational databases, but current BIM tools struggle with efficient component information retrieval. Developing efficient methods to extract, process, and apply this data remains a critical challenge.
For example, in Revit, fully understanding a wall component’s information requires navigating multiple views (plan, elevation, or 3D), clicking on the wall, and reviewing basic dimensions in the properties browser. Further details, such as material functions, require clicking “edit type” and accessing layered structural information through additional dialogs. Each layer requires further exploration.
Understanding an ordinary wall’s basic information can take over 20 clicks and nearly a minute. Considering that a medium-sized building can contain hundreds of thousands of components, no engineer can spend such extensive time on each element. Currently, reliance on 2D drawings and design specifications remains necessary, limiting BIM software’s potential advantages.
5) The BIM Era Has Yet to Foster a Mature Software Industry Ecosystem
BIM modeling software research spans over 40 years, but market acceptance only began in the past decade, and the corresponding industry chain remains underdeveloped.
Unlike mechanical manufacturing, where software for process planning (CAPP), engineering (CAE), manufacturing (CAM), and product data management (PDM) are established, the construction industry lacks commercial software supporting full lifecycle management based on feature models (computer-interpretable building information).
Moreover, most mainstream engineering and enterprise management software lack effective data interfaces with BIM tools, limiting the use of BIM data.
Many theoretical foundations for utilizing 3D product information in engineering management remain incomplete. For example, finite element analysis is widely applied in manufacturing, leveraging stable physical properties of metals and mature analytical methods to produce reliable results. In contrast, construction primarily involves geotechnical and concrete materials, with key theories still semi-hypothetical and controversial—for instance, debates on whether soil behaves as a continuum or discrete body persist. Models often require empirical adjustments and cannot be directly used for precise calculations. Prior to BIM, limited tool support meant that data research was simplified and incomplete. Bridging the gap from tool availability to algorithm development demands significant time and data accumulation.
Thus, today’s BIM software merely opens the door to a vast repository of potential. Only by fully integrating advanced manufacturing technologies, optimizing existing tools, establishing robust software systems, and achieving theoretical and practical breakthroughs can the construction industry truly benefit from this wealth.
This article is excerpted from the WeChat official account: Huazhu Building Science Research Institute. Author: boss
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